Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Raises Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 2,350 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $3,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Barclays PLC raised its position in MKS Instruments by 108.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $110,789,000 after purchasing an additional 530,620 shares during the period. Shellback Capital LP purchased a new position in MKS Instruments in the second quarter valued at about $34,541,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in MKS Instruments by 219.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 348,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,445,000 after purchasing an additional 239,099 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in MKS Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $21,690,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in MKS Instruments in the second quarter valued at about $23,171,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Mizuho raised MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.42.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $112.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.04. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a one year low of $90.90 and a one year high of $147.40. The company has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 250.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.65.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. The company had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $874.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. MKS Instruments’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is currently 195.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total transaction of $27,225.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,818.70. The trade was a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total value of $31,187.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. This trade represents a 1.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 825 shares of company stock worth $92,853 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc provides foundational technology solutions to semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial applications in the United States, Germany, China, South Korea, and internationally. It operates through Vacuum Solutions Division (VSD), Photonics Solutions Division (PSD), and Material Solutions Division (MSD) segments.